Stubborn
by Big Meanie
Summary: He is and will always be stubborn...


Stubborn

A/N: Amy/Knuckles friendship fluff again. I'm a fan of this duo to be honest, not a lot of fics stars these two so I made my own yet again. M for strong language primarily from Knuckles.

_He is and will always be..._

If it weren't for his short temper, he wouldn't be in this mess. He didn't give a damn about it though, however the pink female thought otherwise. Amy bandaged Knuckles' arm in white gauze as she did the rest of his body. Blood soaked up underneath the bandages and he growls when she dabs alcohol on an open wound.

"Grr...fuck..." Knuckles growls as he watches the cotton turn red like his fur.

"Stay still." Amy instructs gently. She tried her best to sound kind to the otherwise upset echidna. He'd been through hell and she was first person he went to for help.

He'd been wounded for days, resting in her spare bedroom until he fully healed. It would take months, but it was better than using palm leaves and mashed plants to cover up the wounds he suffered. After Amy finishes wrapping him up, she helps him lie back down and pulls the covers over his body to let him rest. Before she leaves, he grabs her hand, the action made him turn red for a moment.

"Amy...get me some water please?"

She smiles. "Of course."

She exits the room and he watch her leave with the door open. He was parched and wanted something to ease his pain. After a moment, she returns with a tall glass of water in her hand and she aids him in sitting up to drink it. It was ice cold thanks to the ice cubes she dropped inside.

"Thank you." Knuckles grunts after drinking up the whole glass. He needed that refill of energy. He hands the glass back to her and she smiles at him warmly before helping him sit back down and left him be. The echidna yawns widely, his fangs showing as he looked at the thin curtains as they blew in the soft breeze.

He'll be here under her watchful eye for a while he already knew, but Amy was a sweetheart and would even care for Shadow if it was him instead. She did once before, and she'll be happy to do so again.

—

Knuckles slowly opens his eyes and looks around the dark room. It was around two or so in the morning and he needed to use the restroom. He strains to sit up and get out the bed without the female's aid and hobbles towards the door and opens it, limping for the bathroom across from his room.

He makes sure he's quite enough to not startle the young female snoring softly behind the white door just a few feet from him. He makes it into the pristine bathroom, lifts the lid and does his business. After a moment, Knuckles finishes up and hobbles back into his bedroom, carefully closing the door behind him as he painfully hops into the bed and tries to relax his body into the prone position under his covers.

Usually he finds difficulty falling asleep again after waking up, so he lies there staring up at the dark ceiling. The slow-spinning blades of the ceiling fan catches his attention only briefly before he decided to reach for the remote for the new air conditioner Amy's landlord recently installed prior to Amy's arrival in the building.

The room quickly became cold, but knowing the echidna, he was used to the harshest of weather conditions thanks to Angel Island. He realizes that the window was open, and hobbles over to close it as quietly as he could. He figured he'd turn the ceiling fan off as well given the A/C was on. He hobbles back into bed, where he eventually falls asleep.

—

Amy has been asleep the entire night. She didn't stir once even when Knuckles had accidentally bumped into the wall when he fumbled for the light switch in the bathroom. She wakes up and it's six in the morning—fifteen minutes before seven in the morning. She pads her way to the bathroom before gently turning the knob to Knuckles' room where he is sleeping on his good side with his back to her. She watched the slow rise and fall of his side and acknowledged how freezing cold his room was thanks to the blasting air conditioning he turned on in the middle of the night.

The echidna snores audibly, almost as if he was having a loud match with the machine freezing his dreads off. This makes the young hedgehog giggle as she gently closes the door behind her and walks back to her room where she lies back down to relax herself. She figures she'd fall back asleep, but she eventually decides against it and simply stays up in bed until the morning hit.

She'd fix her and Knuckles a light breakfast before heading for the store to get more groceries. She didn't warn Knuckles of this urgency but hopes he didn't mind the few minutes alone in the house until she returned. She gets up, gets dressed in her light pink robe and heads for the kitchen to make breakfast.

By the time she's done, Knuckles was still asleep, making the pink female shake his shoulder to wake him. Stirring, she helps the older echidna sit up in bed and presented him with the tray of food.

Fresh orange juice, eggs, bacon, toast and slices of ham was for breakfast and Knuckles' mouth watered from both the sight and smell.

"Eat up. I made a light breakfast, so you don't throw it back up later." Amy said with a smile as she patted the echidna's back lightly.

"It smells good Ames." Knuckles turns his attention to the female, smiling. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Amy leaves the room for the kitchen to eat her waiting breakfast before stopping at the door to tell him what she planned after.

"Knuckles, I'm gonna head to the store after breakfast. I gotta go get more groceries." Amy says and Knuckles looks at her as he swallows a crisp piece of bacon.

"Going to the store? But you said you wouldn't leave me alone for one second!"

"Knuckles, you're hurt and I'm low on ammo so to say. It wouldn't take long at all. Bear with me here please."

"I'll go with you."

"No, you're not. You're severely injured Knuckles. You can risk further injury or infection."

"I can just sit in the car. I'll be fine Ames. Just give me fresh wraps and we'll go."

"Why you want to come anyways Knuckles? I'm confused by this." Knuckles swallows some eggs before answering.

"Because the last time you were taking care of me and you left...you got kidnapped. I don't the same thing happening again." Knuckles smiles, pointing his fork playfully at the irritated female in the doorway. "Now I saved you even though I was hurt. I knew something was wrong, so I went looking for you and sure enough, you were kidnapped by Eggman."

This was all true in fact. Knuckles was right. The last time she had him under her care and he was severely wounded she was kidnapped by Eggman and he indeed saved her from him despite the wounds he suffered. She surely pecked his cheek that night—after taking extra care of him following that day was well. Pouting, Amy huffs before responding.

"Alright then, fine. You can come. Let me go and eat my food and then we'll go. Is that fine?" Amy asked. Knuckles nodded.

"Yes. Hey! I'm looking out for you now. Remember that Ames." Knuckles answers. She closed the door and heads for the kitchen, taking her seat on the chair and began to eat her food. It wasn't cold as she thought it would but ate it nonetheless.

The fact that the echidna was stubborn enough to tag along with her to the store despite his injuries made her wonder what about him that made her appreciate him to do so. Against her protest of staying in bed, he'd rather protect her when he could barely do so in his current state. Amy just eats her food after she was done, she got Knuckles' tray and told him she'd be getting ready.

"Can I have a bath?" Knuckles asks. Amy's cheeks flush.

"Do I need to help you?" She says. Knuckles smirks mischievously.

"Maybe... I surely can't wash my back with my arm all sore and broken."

Amy sighs. "Alright. I'll wash you up first, then I'll take a shower and get dressed. C'mon." Amy helped him out the bed and allowed him to wrap his arm around her shoulder as she led the limping echidna across to the bathroom.

She let him sit on the toilet seat as she turned the water on and makes sure it was warm enough to help him get into. Since the echidna was naturally naked, he just had to slip into the water after his bandages were removed and sigh in relief.

"Is the water ok?" Amy asks as she grabs a washcloth and a bar of soap nearby. She had a towel and washcloth ready for him knowing he was living with her for a while.

"Yeah. Ah, shit." Knuckles answers her. He accidentally gets water on a wound on his arm and it stings him slightly. Amy begins washing him by washing his chest and he avoids eye contact with her to prevent making her nervous or uncomfortable. He growls when she washes his arms, the soap and friction burning him badly. He refrains from cruising out it couldn't help it as his eyes were squeezed shut.

"Ah! Fuck!"

"Shh." Amy scolded quietly. "The neighbors can hear you."

"Sorry but it burns man!" Knuckles protested.

"Knuckles, there's no other way to wash you so bear with it." Any washes under his arm and it tickles him making him move his arm.

"Stop that tickles." He grunted. Amy smiled.

"Sorry. I'm just washing everywhere so you be nice and clean. Stand up." Amy says after chuckling and the she helps the echidna stand.

She washes his belly, making him laugh and she just chuckles in amusement before washing his lower half. Amy seemed nervous, Knuckle was watching her as she washed his lower half and then his genitals—or more like his sheath. He knew she didn't have any intentions of sexual contact with him, but it was awkward.

Knuckles silently enjoyed it though. Her small hand gently washing between his legs. It felt good for a short moment, until she went for his legs instead. Knuckles inwardly groaned as if he was disappointed. He was enjoying her touch. He knew he had to avoid "letting loose" but still, as a male, he liked it.

"Alright. I'll wash your face. Close your eyes."

He did as he was told, and the female hedgehog washed his face with his towel. As he was lathered up from head to toe, she helped him sit down as she rinsed him off. After he was done getting his bath, Amy dried him off and waited for his fur to dry before she wrapped him up.

"I'll go ahead and shower now. It won't take me long Knuckles. After I'm ready I'll wrap you up and we'll go."

"Alright."

—

After fifteen minutes, the pink hedgehog was filled up and ready to go. Donning a pink floral sundress and matching pink sandals, she held a roll of gauze in her hand as she entered his room after a few knocks. Knuckles' jaw dropped at the sight of the younger female.

She looked drop-dead gorgeous. He had a reason to slip his tip out his sheath now but fought his hormones not to.

"Goddamn..." Knuckles said making her laugh.

"Thank you Knuckles. You look handsome yourself." She was teasing him he knew that as she she got closer to him, he was startled when she gently took his arm to wrap it snuggly in his biceps, forearms and legs.

"You look like a half mummy going out there like this."

"I don't give a damn. A pretty young lady like yourself can't go out there in the danger zone." Amy makes eye contact with Knuckles after he says this, a blush notably tinting her cheeks the same color as his fur.

"Why so flirtatious suddenly Knux? I thought you hated being hurt and getting nursed by me." Amy smiles at this, curious about the echidna's behavior. He shakes his head as if he's snapping out a trance and blushes madly.

"Uh, well... I-I just think you're dressed really nice and—" Knuckles stammers before Amy stands up after finishing his wraps.

"Ok. Ready to go big buy?" Amy says as she heads for the door. Knuckles stares at her with his mouth slightly agape before slowly climbing down from the bed to join her. Amy grabs her car keys and the two leave her apartment for the parking garage where her red Mini Cooper Clubman was waiting.

The two Mobians climb into the car, where Amy grabbed a temporary handicap placard from the glove compartment and rested it in the coasters. They take a ten-minute drive to the local grocery store and Amy parks in a handicap space, putting the handicap placard on the rear view mirror. Amy gets out and assists Knuckles out the car before grabbing a cart from the cart return and pushed the large basket inside.

Knuckles hobbled behind Amy, following behind her as she shopped peacefully, humming to herself as she gathered few things. Knuckles almost felt like it was a waste of his time, but he didn't want to leave the pink female's side giving she was really attracting his hormones with her curvy figure outlined by her dress. Dirty thoughts began to race through the wounded echidna's banged up brain. One dirty thought included grabbing her ass and making her gasp—in front of other shoppers or not.

'_Focus Knux! Don't think of Amy as a sex toy! She's you're caretaker not no night nurse!' _Knuckles thought in his mind to fight his sexual daydreams. He followed Amy to the dairy products and helped her reach for some eggs despite putting strain on his ribs and sore arms.

After Amy got what she needed, they headed for the self-checkout and bagged their groceries before leaving the store after Amy used her credit card to pay. They walk out and pack the trunk with the groceries before getting into the car and began to make their way back to Amy's apartment.

"See Knuckles, nothing happened to me while I shopped." Amy said as they pulled into the street. Knuckles looked at her and grunted.

"You're not even home yet, Princess. You still can't say nothing happened to you yet." Knuckles commented.

"'_Princess_'? Since when you start calling me that Knux?" Amy was taken aback by the nickname, a surprised smile on her features. The echidna bushes at the slip up and stammers a response.

"W-Well I—" Knuckles was cut off Amy who giggles at her friend's foolishness. Knuckles blushes as red as his own fur and the red light where they've stopped in front of.

"Amy!" Knuckles whined.

"Knuckles." Amy playfully mocks.

"Knuckles you're acting really cute right now. It's so sweet of you to come shopping with me even though you're hurt." Amy looks at him with a smile. "You're really sweet."

The echidna goes silent with embarrassment until they reach her apartment complex, where they took their time carrying all the groceries back into the apartment. After helping her put the groceries away, Amy instructs Knuckles to go back to his room to rest himself and he did.

Amy went to the couch to rest herself before turning on the television to see whatever was on at that time. A talk show featuring a Mobian feline with black fur who reminded her of Blaze was speaking to a Mobian crowd and answering whatever questions they had. She watched the show until it ended.

—

Knuckles laid in the bed staring up at the wall. He felt as if he never left the house in the first place. Perhaps Amy was right. There was no need for him to had come with her to the store. The fact that her curvy figure distracted him at times made him blush at the thought for the millionth time this morning.

He had been stubborn he knew already, but it was in his nature. He protected the younger female because he was worried for her safety ignoring his own. He'd show Amy his gratefulness the more he progressed on his recovery, now he just wanted to sleep.

A/N: Huh, I cut off the story there because it was getting long. Perhaps a sequel oneshot would be written for it when I have time. Until then, consider this part one. Until then I hope someone found this Amy/Knux fic cute and humorously friendship-y enough.


End file.
